N.H. Suspends Jury Trials, Leaves Judgeships Vacant

The cash-strapped court system in New Hampshire is suspending jury trials for at least a month and leaving judgeships vacant.

The one-month suspension is expected to save about $73,000, the amount of money paid to jurors, the New York Times reports. The state’s chief justice, John Broderick, defended the temporary suspension.

“We would rather do that and have that inconvenience for a month than lay staff people off, which would be a perpetual inconvenience,” he told the newspaper. He said $2.7 million has already been pared from court budgets, yet additional savings is needed.

To save even more cash, the court system will let seven judgeships remain vacant until at least June and will delay replacing a supreme court justice who is scheduled to retire in February, according to the story.